Extrapulmonary tuberculosis (TB) affects approximately 20 percent of TB cases in immunocompetent individuals and 50 percent of cases in HIV-infected patients. Tuberculous enteritis is a form of extrapulmonary TB that can involve any aspect of the gastrointestinal tract. It accounts for 1 to 3 percent of TB worldwide [1] and represents the sixth most frequent form of extrapulmonary TB (after lymphatic, genitourinary, bone and joint, miliary, and meningeal tuberculosis) [2]. The epidemiology of tuberculous enteritis varies widely around the globe, influenced in part by age, sex, socioeconomic factors, immune status, and Mycobacterium tuberculosis genotype [3]. Young adults, primarily women, are mostly affected in regions like Pakistan, Turkey, and West Africa, whereas a lower disease incidence but similar or greater numbers of male patients are reported in studies from China, Singapore, India, and the United Kingdom [3].

Prior to antituberculous therapy, gastrointestinal involvement was observed in 55 to 90 percent of patients with active pulmonary TB but since has been observed in approximately 25 percent of cases [4].

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